Crafty Progress!

It was a long day here at chez DPUTiger and it’s only winding down now at 11:20 pm. We started with an early (for me, now) wake-up call, since the delivery window for our shiny new Washer/Dryer started at 8:30 am.

The guys from the major chain where we bought the machines were on time, courteous, funny and very good/efficient at their jobs. How refreshing! I just hope that I’m half as happy with this pair as the Yarn Harlot is with Mr. Washie (or is that Sir Washie?)


I did lots of various types of loads throughout the afternoon. So far? Me likey!

There is one little accessory we’re going to send away for (since it’s free, and all!)


The Bear Shelf! Useful in case Bear or any of his buddies needs a beach vacation … or needs to clean up after a beach vacation! :) That photo is from the flyer I have to send in.

After getting the washer/dryer delivered, installed and leveled, I hit the road. I picked up my bicycle, which had been sad and neglected all eight years I was in L.A. After a “spring tune-up” and a set of new tires, it is once again roadworthy and will probably head up to the Lake next weekend. Woo-Hoo! (sorry. Forgot to take a picture. Blog fodder at the Lake has been light, so It’ll probably get its day in the sun when I take my first ride in 9 years!)

I came home, made lunch and went next door to ask my super-awesome neighbor Gail to help me move that pesky couch. I’m really hoping to have that thing totally out of my house by the start of next week (along with its matching chair and ottoman), but for now I’m just grateful both that it is very light and maneuverable, and that Gail had five minutes to help me get it out of the way. Hubster and I had cleared a path for Washer/Dryer delivery guys last night that we wound up not needing. But better safe than sorry!!

So from that point, I started chipping away at the laundry. Ate lunch (no Diet Pepsi on the ceiling today. Sorry, Sandy!) and started moving boxes. Here is a pretty accurate “before” picture. This was the area parallel to the stairs at about 8 pm last night.


We did some minor moving around for the washer/dryer guys, but this is basically what I was staring at immediately after lunch (and Gail’s help with the couch).

After some serious box moving (and I found the necessary book and ruler for the Pineapple Class. Yay!), I wound up with a Great. Big. Empty.



And this


Yup. The bookcases. Those boxes are Really. Freaking. Heavy. Just in case you were curious. They look deceivingly small and light. It's a lie.

Now I was asked (email, not comment) why the heck I didn’t just pay IkeaDude/Dudette to come and assemble the bookcases for me. Well, I have to admit. I really kind of like doing the assembly myself.

However, there is always a point in the instructions where you need to look at the picture, say “that’s not quite how they should have told me to do it” and adjust. I didn’t quite adjust quickly enough on the opening bookcase, and this was the result.


We shall not speak of this incident again. OK? OK! You really have to look carefully in person. The flash makes it more obvious in the photo than it is in real life, thankfully.

After a long break to listen in on the Hubster’s conversation with DirecTV (our local installer sucks, and that’s being polite. We hope to have this resolved by football season. I only wish I was exaggerating!) and have some dinner, we popped a movie (Dave) into the DVD player downstairs and I tackled the final two bookcases. So now, remember that Great Big Empty?


Voila! I’m hoping to start putting some stuff (mostly fabric) into those bookcases tomorrow. Ain’t they purdy?

Oh, and where did all the boxes go?


We WILL NOT have any problems with the furnace or water heater until I get this unpacked. I forbid it! The big gray thing is the furnace. The water heater? It's blocked in behind about 20 boxes way back in that corner. Mom freaked me out with stories about how it's nearing the end of its natural life, so all the "ground level" boxes back there are either plastic storage or on some sort of plastic riser so if the worst happens in the next day or two, all my fabric and quilty stuff isn't soggy and cardboard-covered.

Plan to work on Quilt Central unpacking tomorrow, then off to the Lake. I’ll probably post late again tomorrow. Happy Friday!

Oh, and Happy Anniversary to me and the Hubster. Four years ago today was pretty damn busy around this house, but for different reasons … I still think I’ll keep him …